Rakir the Beastmaster
| upkeep_cost = | req = None | moves = | melee = | ranged = | defense = | resist = | hits = | item_slot_1 = | item_slot_2 = | item_slot_3 = | abilities = Caster ( ) Scouting 3 Forester | random_abilities = None | extra_spells = * Resist Elements }} Rakir the Beastmaster is one of the 35 Hero units featured in Master of Magic. Rakir is a non-Champion Hero. He may randomly appear for hire, in which case his Hiring Cost is by default. Alternatively, Rakir can be summoned using the Summon Hero spell (or through partial failure of the Summon Champion spell), and can occasionally be found as a Prisoner reward after a successful Encounter. Rakir is a rather basic Melee Attacker, with no real outstanding combat properties except a slightly-elevated number of . Early on he can contribute very little to combat. Until Experience and/or Magical Items can be acquired, Rakir's best use would be as a scout, thanks to both his Scouting ability (which increases Sight Range by a very large amount) and Forester ability (which allows him to travel fairly-quickly through Forests). Rakir also has the ability to cast spells, for which he will pay from his own pool. In addition to any spell known to his employer, Rakir may also cast the Resist Elements spell - assuming he has sufficient to do so. Rakir may be equipped with the basic fare of Magical Items. He often needs to decide whether to wear items that improve his combat capabilities, or items that improve his magical abilities. Without Magical Items, Rakir may be severely under-powered and could die easily during combat. Rakir's Upkeep Cost is per turn. General Description Rakir the Beastmaster has spent his life studying animals, and learning how to interact with them. Thanks to some magical knowledge he has obtained throughout his education, he has managed to learn how to speak with the beasts, and how to convince them to act on his behalf. As a result of this, Rakir can collect information directly from the animals inhabiting a region, to learn of anything that occurs around him. It's a natural spy network! To better become "one with nature", Rakir wears no armor - and scant few clothes to boot. He is seen riding a dark-grey horse in nothing but a simply loin-cloth, and a simple thin head-band to keep his long black hair out of his eyes. Rakir is accompanied by a faithful hawk that will fly up to act as his eye in the sky. Initial Properties All data below assumes Rakir is at his lowest , and without any Magical Items or Random Abilities - After all, any Hero can become devastatingly powerful after gaining several levels and powerful items. Please refer to the tables and chapters below for more information. Attack Properties Rakir the Beastmaster possesses only a of unimpressive strength. None of his abilities will boost the strength of this attack, meaning that without powerful Magical Items he will struggle to cause any serious damage to his opponents - until such time that plenty of Experience can be gathered. Rakir's Melee Attack has a default strength of . With the basic To Hit chance of , he can be expected to deliver only about with each such attack. This is a rather poor amount for a Hero with no secondary attack, and means that Rakir will have to make many attacks against any target before that target is destroyed. This is a problem, because Rakir's defensive properties (see below) are also lacking, meaning that repeated combat with any opponent can get him killed off very quickly. Defensive Properties By default, Rakir the Beastmaster has a below-average Defense score of . After all, he wears no armor or clothing! He can block, on average, only about from any damage source. Only the weakest opponents will fail to get damage through this score, so expect Rakir to take damage often when fighting any target, at least until he can gain plenty of Experience and/or acquire strong armor. To mitigate this somewhat, Rakir has an above-average , which means that he can take a bit more damage than other Heroes before succumbing to his wounds. Again, expect Rakir to take damage often if he goes into combat, so even is not nearly enough to keep him alive. As with most Heroes, Rakir possesses a default Resistance score of . This makes him somewhat vulnerable to Curses and other combat maledictions. It will take at least before he can become immune to some of these effects, assuming no Magical Items or Random Abilities augment it. Other Properties Rakir the Beastmaster has a basic Hero's Movement Allowance of . This is good for speeding up his movement on the overland map, through plain land tiles like Grassland and Deserts. During battle, Rakir may need to use his speed to stay away from stronger enemies. Furthermore, thanks to his Forester ability, Rakir spends only 1 Movement Point when entering Forest tiles (essentially treating them like Grassland in terms of movement speed). Any units stacked with Rakir enjoy the same bonus, so the entire stack may move at good speed through such tiles. Despite being a ground unit, Rakir enjoys a massive bonus to his Sight Range, thanks to the Scouting ability he has by default. The level of this scouting ability is 3, which means that he can see 3 tiles in any direction on the overland map (including diagonals). As a result, Rakir can be used either to map the land or to spot incoming enemy armies from a great distance. Spellcasting Rakir the Beastmaster possesses the Caster ability by default, and initially has . This Mana pool increases with Experience. Rakir may cast any combat spell known to his employer. In addition, regardless of whether it is available to the employer, Rakir also has access to Resist Elements. Some spells, including this additional one, may be unavailable for casting until Rakir can gain some Experience and increase his available . To cast a spell with Rakir during combat, you must select Rakir, press the "Spell" button, and then select "Beastmaster" from the pop-up list. If Rakir is out of , out of Movement Points, has been killed or is otherwise incapacitated, his name will not appear on this list. Note that using Rakir to cast spells does not reduce your own available Spell Skill or - he is completely independent and uses up his own skill and Mana. Finally, the Caster ability also allows Rakir to augment your wizard's own Spell Skill. To perform this, place Rakir in the same tile as your Fortress town. While he is inside this town, your Spell Skill is increased by half the value of Rakir's Caster skill, rounded down. Experience The following table illustrates how Rakir's various skills and attributes increase as he gains Experience. Attributes not appearing on this list do not improve with Experience. Average Damage Output The following table shows Rakir's average output with each of his attacks, based on his current . Note that this table completely ignores bonuses from Magical Items, if any. Improvement Overview As with any other Hero, Rakir can eventually become very powerful as he gains Experience. Nonetheless, he is quite weak at the lower levels. Rakir lacks any abilities that boost his Melee Attack strength or any other attribute. As a result, he will never become as useful as other Heroes can be, and requires Magical Items to attain any serious power. With additional levels, Rakir's Caster ability will allow him to perform several more Ranged Attacks in each battle (or cast more spells). This can turn him into a powerful ranged attacker or support hero. It is important to note that none of Rakir's other abilities will improve with Experience. This is one reason why Rakir is often seen as somewhat inferior to other Heroes. Ability Overview Caster ( ) * This Hero may cast spells during combat, withdrawing from his/her own personal Mana Pool to do so. * The Hero may spend only per battle. This Mana Pool is reset at the end of each battle - assuming the Hero survives at all. * With each gained, this Hero receives a permanent bonus of . * Spellcasting takes up all of the Hero's remaining Movement Points for the turn. * While this Hero is inside his/her employer's Fortress town, the owner's Spell Skill is increased by half the value of the Hero's Caster ability. Scouting 3 * Increases the unit's Sight Range to 3. On the overland map, this unit can now reveal the fog-of-war and detect enemy units within 3 tiles of its position (including diagonals). Forester * This unit may move through any Forest tile at a rate of 1 Movement Point per tile. * When this unit is stacked with other units, the entire stack may move through Forest tiles at a rate of 1 Movement Point per tile. Random Abilities Rakir the Beastmaster has no Random Abilities. Therefore, his various attributes will be exactly the same each time you play the game. This makes Rakir more predictable. He will never be any less or more useful than this article describes. Equipment Rakir the Beastmaster has the following item slots: This set-up contributes primarily to Melee combat. This is excellent for Rakir, who is essentially a Melee-oriented unit. You might instead wish to develop Rakir's magical abilities, but this set-up limits that to some degree. Recommended Items Although Rakir has a melee-oriented set of item slots, he needs to cover many deficiencies before he can go into hand-to-hand combat with any serious enemy unit. On the other hand, this set also restricts the improvement of Rakir's magical powers, and he has no Ranged Attack to use for safely attacking his enemies from afar. Whether you focus on one avenue of development or mix-and-match both of them together, Rakir can end up severely underpowered even with a full set of items. Weapon :Rakir can hold a Sword, Mace or Axe. There is little difference in this choice, although Rakir will likely want to make the most out of a Sword's bonuses, if any, to reduce his deficiencies in this field. :If you wish Rakir to be able to cast more spells during combat, a good bonus to may come in handy. Remember of course that such bonuses are very limited when placed on a melee weapon, and will not allow Rakir to become any sort of powerful spell-caster. Armor :Rakir's rating is lower than normal, prompting some players to equip him with very heavy armor. Shields are often less desirable, though they may protect this Hero from powerful enemy Ranged Attackers. :Overall, any bonus on the armor will be great for Rakir, but do remember that without a proper score, he will suffer plenty of damage during any Melee attack. Try to boost this property up with the armor piece if he doesn't get sufficient bonuses from other sources. :Finally, since Rakir is essentially a scout more than anything else, increasing his Movement Allowance is very desirable. A hefty bonus here can allow him to quickly explore an entire continent, or scout around your empire's borders effectively against enemy invasions. Jewelry :With one piece of Jewelry available for Rakir, it is best to carefully consider which piece to select for him. Though he can benefit from most bonuses on such items, this choice can make the difference between a useful Hero and a waste of Upkeep Costs. :Attack Strength, To Hit, , and bonuses are all acceptable, as they all cover Rakir's deficiencies. , in particular, can help keep this Hero alive for longer. The choice between these bonuses depends on how you wish to use Rakir in combat - if at all. :Once again extra Movement Allowance may actually be the best choice, allowing you to utilize Rakir as a fast scout to patrol your borders, investigate enemy lands, or simply explore your continent rapidly. :Avoid any penalties, as they will rarely if ever help (unless you intend Rakir to cast Curses during combat, assuming you know any such spells). Acquisition Rakir the Beastmaster can be acquired in one of four different methods: * By hiring him as he comes to visit your Fortress town, * By casting the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells, * By rescuing him from an Encounter zone, * By Resurrecting him after he has been killed in battle. Hiring Rakir Every once in a while, a Hero will arrive at your Fortress town to ask for employment. The frequency of this event depends on your current score, the number of Heroes already under your employ, and whether or not you have particular Retorts that affect this chance. In order for Rakir to appear for hire in this way, you must meet several requirements: # You must have sufficient in your treasury to hire Rakir (more on this below). # Rakir must not have already been killed in battle. Note that '''Rakir' does not care about your wizard's score - he is not picky about whom he serves.'' Since the game randomly chooses which Hero appears during this event, there's no guarantee that Rakir will ever appear. The chance, however, increases if the number of other valid Heroes dwindles (such as when most other Heroes have died in battle). The default Hiring Cost for Rakir is . This is reduced to if your wizard has the Charismatic Retort. If you do not have this much at the start of a turn (after paying all Upkeep Costs), Rakir will not appear for hire. In fact, if he is picked as the Hero who approaches you, and you lack the money to hire him, you are effectively forfeiting your chance to hire any Hero this turn. After agreeing to hire Rakir (you can always refuse), you may give him any name you choose - he will be known as " the Beastmaster". His overland unit will appear at your Fortress town or, if that town's garrison is full, next to your Fortress town. Summoning Rakir As a non-Champion hero, Rakir the Beastmaster can be summoned using either the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells. However, Summon Champion only has a chance to bring Rakir to you if all Champions are unavailable at the time. Once the spell is completed, the game chooses a random Hero to bring to your Fortress from a list of all available and valid Heroes. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Rakir will appear when these spells are cast, unless all other Heroes are unavailable. Again, you get a chance to agree or refuse to hire Rakir. If you agree, he will appear in your Fortress town and/or next to it. If Rakir is hired through the use of Summon Hero or Summon Champion, there is no need to pay any Hiring Cost. However, you may still need to pay an Upkeep Cost (see below). Rescuing Rakir On defeating an Encounter of at least moderate difficulty, there is a small chance that your reward will include a Prisoner previously held captive in this Encounter zone. The game can randomly pick any non-Champion Hero to be rescued in this way - except Heroes that have already died while in your service. Your and are disregarded, and there is no need to pay any Hiring Costs. Note that if the army that beats that particular Encounter already contains 9 units, you will never be rewarded with a Prisoner. Resurrecting Rakir For most wizards, losing Rakir in battle removes him from the game permanently. He will never appear again. For -wielding wizards, however, who have access to the Resurrection spell, it is possible to bring Rakir back to life after he has died. In this case, Rakir returns to your Fortress town, with no Magical Items, but keeping all Experience he had prior to his death. You may repeatedly resurrect Rakir each time he dies. Upkeep Costs Once Rakir is in your employ, you must pay him an Upkeep Cost of at the start of each and every turn. Failure to pay this price due to lack of results in Rakir leaving your employ. This is not permanent however: Rakir may still be acquired in any of the above methods with no penalty. Alternate Names Other wizards can also have a Beastmaster, but they are different characters (what happens to one has no effect on the others), and go by different names, as follows: Category:Units Category:Heroes Category:Non-Champions